Mobile Lasers Shoot Down Unmanned Aircraft

The famed aeronautics company Boeing has announced recently that it has developed a variety of laser cannon that can successfully bring down unmanned aerial reconnaissance drones. The laser, mounted on the back of a Humvee, is capable of destroying the very probes that president Obama claims are the future of the US Army. Just as the new president presented a statement on his defense priorities, the company made this announcement, which would virtually render the entire high-tech industry without military contracts.

UAVs have numerous advantages on their side, with the most important being the fact that they are very small, and thus automatically more difficult to shoot down. Because they leave the pilot out of the equation, they can be sent directly into harm's way, but can fly at very high altitudes, and can carry devastating loads. They are controlled remotely from designated locations, and get the job done quickly.

However, stealth and speed remain their greatest advantage. If a device such as Boeing's new laser can indeed easily knock them down, then America's enemies will certainly get a hold of them fairly soon. And the thing about the new Laser Avenger system is that it has been designed specifically to hit the smallest of UAVs, sometimes so tiny that they can be launched by hand. These are the most difficult to bring down by conventional antiaircraft defenses, and therefore more prone to cause important damage.

The laser works by emitting a strong infrared laser pulse, with tens of kilowatts of intensity, and can be easily fitted on a Humvee off-road vehicle, for easy deployment at any location. This tremendous mobility will make it an ideal weapon for theaters of operation throughout the world, and especially in tight confines, such as jungles and rain forests.

Another impressive feat of the new system is that it can process and determine when it's the best moment to strike. Thus, it waits for a certain amount of time prior to noticing an incoming aircraft, for example, and then engages it. It does this to ensure that the first hit causes the maximum damage possible, so as to render its target unable to continue the fight.